The value teachers place on the activities children engage in outside of school. In Lawrence Stenhouse’s wonderful book ‘An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development’ there is a list of pupils’ interests and activities ranked by how their teachers approved/disapproved of them. It is quite an interesting, in some cases extraordinary, list. It was part … More Cultural Capital
“[educationl is in fact one of the most effective means of perpetuating the existing social pattern, as it both provides an apparent justification for social inequalities and gives recognition to the cultural heritage, that is, to a social gift treated as a natural one.” (Bourdieu, 1974, p. 32) Education maintains inequality. Bourdieu argues that in … More Whose Cultural Capital?
Initially appealing, at least to me, the idea of cultural capital has begun to worry me. Though not coined by someone who admitted to being a Marxist, Pierre Bourdieu did draw quite heavily on Marxist thinking when it came to expounding his thesis. It is about power. Simply put, if you speak posh, go on … More Some Problems with Cultural Capital and Social Mobility
There is a perennial debate that goes on in education circles about what education is for, is it about education for its own sake or is it about creating a workforce? Is it about teaching the best that has been thought and said or is this impossible to ascertain because certain knowledge has been privileged … More What Do Posh Schools Teach Their Kids?
Trivium 21c 